Foreign students praise China's move to raise stipend

International students who are studying on scholarships in different universities in China have praised the announcement by the Chinese government to raise their monthly grant.

David Copeland Cortes, an American student at Renmin University on Chinese government's scholarship, told chinadaily.com.cn that the decision to raise the stipend would attract more foreign students to study in China without having to worry about finances.

He added that he had to skip classes and do part-time jobs to meet his monthly expenses because the grant awarded to him was not sufficient, but now he can focus more on study rather than work to meet expenses.

According to the new scholarship system, international students will receive an increased subsidy backdated to Sept 1, 2014. Undergraduates will receive 66,200 yuan ($10,660) per year, those pursuing master's degree will get 79,200 yuan and PhD students will receive 99,800 yuan.

The allowance will cover tuition, boarding fees, living expenses, travel costs and medical insurance. An additional subsidy of 5,000 yuan will be granted to students attending programs taught in English.

Ferhat, a Master of Business Administration student from Turkey at the University of Beijing's Institute of Technology, termed the move to raise stipend "remarkable", adding that the decision to provide more opportunities to foreign students to come and study in China would further boost the education standard of colleges and universities as more international students will now prefer to study in China.

Moreover, it would also create more job opportunities for foreign teachers as the strength of foreign students will increase.

Zafar Hussain, a PhD student from Pakistan at the Communication University of China, said it is an important step to turn China the number one country in Asia in terms of international students enrolled in its colleges and universities.

Rupak Sapkota, a PhD candidate in international relations from Nepal, said the new policy would further improve the living standards of the foreign students. "I am sure, this initiative would attract overseas students to come and study in China as it is rapidly growing economy in all fields," said Rupak.

"Moreover, I am happy about the recent rise in scholarship funding and many foreign students who are studying in China on scholarship would be similarly excited," he added.